North Carolina...
 

NC 87:
 

Summary:

NC 87 is North Carolina's longest state highway but second longest road (US 64 is longer). Beginning in Southside Virginia at US 220 in Ridgeway (just south of Martinsville), VA 87 traverses for about 4 miles in the Old Dominion State before crossing into North Carolina for a long haul towards Southport. About 2 miles south of the Virginia border, NC 14 begins its short life by multiplexing with NC 87.

Approaching the town of Eden, NC 87 is just a mess! It runs through and around Eden as a two lane highway towards Reidsville. NC 14, a short lived state route, goes along a straighter 4-lane arterial route which is the direct route from Eden to Reidsville and directly connects to US 29 BYPASS. As in Eden, NC 87 goes around downtown Reidsville. It then continues as a 2-lane highway towards Burlington and Pittsboro, enjoying a less disrespectful alignment.

NC 87 multiplexes with US 15/501 just south of Pittsboro. From the US 15/501 junction to the Lee County line, it is an Improved 2-lane highway with many characteristics of a Super-2. There is a limited number of at-grade intersections, very little driveway access, and plenty of right of way to expand to 4 lanes. However, upon entering Lee County, NC 87/US 15/501 runs along an “old-school” 4 lane-arterial with no median and a double line between Old US 1 Highway and US 1 BYPASS with many driveways serving the industrial area of Sanford. The 4-lane arterial part of NC 87/US 15/501 was the original routing of mainline US 1. Wired green overhead signs mark the intersection where US 1 diverged as “Old US 1 Highway.” US 1 was shifted to its eastern alignment in 1965 as a Super 2-lane Freeway, and was dualized as a 4 lane freeway in 1997¹.

Approaching Sanford, NC 87 currently multiplexes with US 1. However, NC 87 and US 421 will have their own east-west bypass around Sanford. This freeway bypass is currently under construction. Currently, NC 87 exits US 1 at US 421 (Horner Blvd) and runs through the heart of Sanford as a 5-lane boulevard (continuous center turn lane) with plenty of commercial development. The highway through Sanford was once a double-line 4-lane boulevard through Sanford until the mid-1990s when the NCDOT addressed the problem of constant rear-ending of left turning vehicles by reconstructing Horner Blvd as a 5-lane boulevard with a continuous center turn lane.

Leaving the city of Sanford, from the US 421/NC 87 split to NC 690 (Vass Road) in Spring Lake, Cumberland County, the NCDOT recently completed the dualization of NC 87, converting it to a 4-lane arterial. Through the greater Fayetteville area, NC 87 starts off in Spring Lake as a 4-6 lane boulevard with a continuous center turn lane. NC 87 then has a grassy median in Ft. Bragg, and finally has a cement median in Boonie Doone and Fayetteville. The locals in the Fayetteville area refer to NC 87/NC 24 as Bragg Blvd. From downtown Fayetteville to I-95, NC 87 runs along the Martin Luther King Freeway as it travels southeast towards Business (“Green”) 95/US 301 (Eastern Blvd) and mainline I-95.

After NC 87 passes by the real I-95, it downgrades from a freeway to a 4-lane arterial. It is a 4-lane arterial all the way to the town of Tar Heel, where it becomes a 5-lane arterial (continuous center turn lane) for a brief time, and then dies down to a 2 lane highway until it reaches Elizabethtown. The Elizabethtown Bypass, which was built during the mid-1990s, is a 4 lane expressway. There are provisions to upgrade it as a freeway with diamond ramps if the NCDOT ever feels the need to do so in the future. In addition, the E-Town Bypass has safety design features at every at grade intersection, including flashing yellow lights about 2000 feet from the intersections. These lights allow for improved safety and sight distance by signaling when turning vehicles are entering and exiting the at-grade intersection. It also has a blinker signaling that the traffic light will be changing from a green light to a red light. Although some roadways in North Carolina already have these features (US 1 in Franklin County and NC 11 in Bertie County), they are more common on 4-lane arterials and expressways in Virginia and Maryland.

Sadly, NC 87 reverts back to 2 lanes between Elizabethtown and US 74/76. NC 87 then multiplexes with US 74/76 along the 4-lane arterial before turning right onto a 2-lane highway.  NC 87 then multiplexes with another 4-lane arterial, this time US Highway 17. It finally turns left as a two lane highway towards its southern terminus in the quaint waterfront town of Southport.

¹  NCRoads

History and Construction Schedule:

Junction Log:

Future Improvements:
NC 87 is slated to be a 4-lane expressway/arterial from Pittsboro to US 74/76 in Rigelwood.

Expressway Site Recommends:
Between Eden and Reidsville, NC 87 should be signed along NC 14 via US 29 to its current alignment in southeastern Reidsville. Move NC 14 onto NC 87's current alignment or, better yet, make that route NC 87 BUSINESS.

Sources:
Adam Prince, State-Ends, Gribblenation, NC Highways, Troy Creasy.

Last Updated: 11/16/05

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